HAVANA - Four pitchers combined on a four-hit shutout and Daniel Cabrera (LSU) and Andrew Vaughn (Cal) hit back-to-back home runs in the sixth inning as the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team clinched its fourth consecutive series victory over Cuba with a 2-0 win at Estadio Latinoamericano on Friday.

The win completes Team USA's sweep of its three series this summer after previously winning all five games against Chinese Taipei and taking three of five from Japan. It has now won its last seven series, dating back to the 2016 campaign.

Against Cuba, the U.S. has now claimed the past four series, including a pair of five-game sets in both Cuba (2016, 2018) and the United States (2015, 2017).

The Collegiate National Team will have a chance to make history on Saturday when it goes for the four-game sweep of Cuba at 10 a.m. ET. Team USA has never won more than three games in a series held on the island. Thursday's contest which was rained out will not be rescheduled.

On Friday, the red, white, and blue received another outstanding effort on the mound as Mason Feole (UConn), Zack Thompson (Kentucky), Matt Cronin (Arkansas), and Max Meyer (Minnesota) combined on the team's second consecutive shutout.

The U.S. has allowed just one run in three games against Cuba and is working on a shutout streak of 18.1 innings going into the series finale. The shutout is the team's third of the summer, having also blanked Japan, 1-0, on July 4.

Feole and Cuba starting pitcher Freddy Asiel Alvarez matched each other pitch-for-pitch through the first four innings, posting zeroes in each frame before handing the ball off to their respective bullpens.

Thompson and Cronin got Team USA through the eighth unscathed before Meyer took over and pitched a perfect ninth to earn his seventh save of the summer and second of the series.

At the plate, Cabrera and Vaughn did all the damage with their back-to-back blasts in the top of the sixth off Cuban reliever Erly Casanova. Cabrera took a 1-1 changeup and deposited in the right-field seats before Vaugh finished off a seven-pitch at-bat with a towering shot just inside the left-field foul pole.

For the series, Cabrera is now hitting at a team-leading .545 clip with six hits and two runs scored.

Cuba had a number of prime scoring opportunities, but another stellar defensive effort and a pair of U.S. double plays helped strand eight runners in the contest.

Continue to follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Collegiate National Team.

QUOTES

USA Baseball CNT Manager Paul Mainieri

(On coaching Team USA to three series wins this summer)

"The whole summer has been like a dream for me. We have such a great group of kids, I have all my best friends surrounding me on the coaching staff, we have won all three series we have played, and we have a chance to sweep Cuba on Cuban soil which has never been done. Our guys are very motivated to come out tomorrow. We are celebrating that we have won all of our series this summer, but we still have unfinished business tomorrow. I told the players I am kind of sad because we only have one more game together. It makes me a little watery-eyed because you grow very fond of these kids and, obviously, these coaches are my best friends. It will be our last time to be together, so I would like to see us go out tomorrow, play our hearts out, and finish on a very positive result."

(On the success of the Team USA pitching staff this summer)

"You can't say enough about what Brian O'Connor has done. He is a great head coach at the University of Virginia, but before he was a head coach he was a phenomenal pitching coach and he has demonstrated that again during the period of time we have been together this summer. He is not reinventing the wheel, obviously these kids are very talented, but we are utilizing them correctly, he is calling the games, and he is handling them the right way. He has worked so hard. He didn't just put on the USA uniform and go through the motions. He worked hard in preparation for this summer, learning about all of the pitchers we were inviting, watching video of them, developing a relationship with them, and they have really responded to his leadership."

USA Baseball Outfielder Daniel Cabrera

(On his home run)

"He started me off with two fastballs, one up-and-away for a ball and one on the black for a strike in, and I was just sitting changeup because he had thrown a good amount of changeups the inning before. I just sat on it and got a hanging changeup."

(On playing in Cuba)

"This experience has been awesome. It is a different atmosphere here with all the Cuban people screaming and playing horns. It has been a blast."

(On the U.S. pitching staff)

"Our pitchers are just throwing up zeroes every inning. They are striking out people and our defense is making wonderful plays. It gives you so much confidence going up there as a hitter when your pitchers are doing that."

(On the LSU connections on Team USA this summer)

"There is no other feeling like representing your country. When you able to share that experience with your head coach and some of your best friends like Zach Watson and Zack Hess, it doesn't get much better than that."

HAVANA - Zach Watson (LSU) hit a home run and Adley Rutschman (Oregon State) drove in two runs but it wasn't enough as four different players for Cuba recorded three RBIs each to defeat the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team in the final game of its summer tour, 15-4, at Estadio Latinoamericano on Saturday.

Team USA finishes the summer with a final record of 12-3, including series wins over Chinese Taipei, Japan, and Cuba. It has now won its last seven series dating back to the 2016 campaign.

Against Cuba, the U.S. has now claimed the past four series, including a pair of series in both Cuba (2016, 2018) and the United States (2015, 2017).

Watson finished Saturday's contest 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored, and a solo home run in the seventh inning.

Rutschman and Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State) also had a pair of hits with Rutschman notching a pair of RBIs on a run-scoring single in the first and a sacrifice fly in the third.

After scoring just one run in the first three games combined, the Cuban lineup exploded for 17 hits on Saturday. The first four hitters alone accounted for 11 hits, nine runs, and nine RBIs.

Two-time Olympic medalist Frederich Cepeda finished the game 2-for-4 with a double and a three-run home run, while Yordan Mandulay was 4-for-5 with a walk, three runs scored, and three RBIs.

Yurisbel Gracial and Guillermo Aviles also drove in three runs each in the victory.

Continue to follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Collegiate National Team.

QUOTES

USA Baseball CNT Manager Paul Mainieri

(On the experience of coaching Team USA)

"This whole experience this summer has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, personally and professionally. That is mostly because of the coaching staff with some of my best friends in the world. We got to spend three weeks together, competing together, working with the players, and it just meant more to me then I can ever express. Second, to put this jersey on that says U-S-A and represent our country is just a very emotional thing. Any time you can do something where you feel like you are contributing to your country in a positive way is so rewarding and you feel so privileged. Third, the experience of meeting 26 new young men who gave everything they had for three weeks, for 15 ball games. I admire them all so much. They all have great talent, but they are also wonderful young men. They are really a credit to their schools, the baseball programs they represent back at their universities, and to our country. They have done nothing except carry themselves in a first-class way. They played great, they were very coachable, and it all just made for an awesome experience for all of us, an experience that we will never forget."

(On being a part of USA Baseball once again)

"I just can't say enough about the job that (USA Baseball General Manager, National Teams) Eric Campbell has done. I had the experience three years ago as an assistant coach and to be able to serve as the head coach has been such a privilege. When Eric and I first started talking about it a couple of years ago, I visualized what it would be like to put a staff together and get to pick the team. I can't tell you how perfect everything played out exactly how I dreamed it would. Obviously, we wish we would have won all of our games, but we won all of our series and it was great to see the kids play as well as they did, and in many cases improve I think. I'm sure that this has been an experience most of them will never forget as well. It will mean an awful lot to them. When Eric and I talked about this a few years ago, he and I collectively put the dream together and I can't thank him enough for giving me this opportunity. He is one of my dearest friends in the world. We worked together for six years in college and the opportunity to spend three weeks with him will be something I will always treasure."

Nineteen USA Baseball Alumni in 2018 MLB All-Star Game

Eleven past members of Collegiate National Team appear on rosters

July 13, 2018

DURHAM, N.C. - Nineteen USA Baseball alumni have been named to the 2018 Major League Baseball All-Star Game rosters, the organization announced on Friday. Ten members of the National Team (NL) roster have suited up for the red, white and blue, while nine of the American League (AL) All-Stars played for Team USA.

Four alumni will start the game in the field for the NL, including Nolan Arenado, Brandon Crawford, Freddie Freeman and Bryce Harper. In addition, alums Manny Machado and Mike Trout are among the AL's nine starting position players.

Of the 19 alumni, twelve have won gold medals with Team USA and eight have represented the stars and stripes on multiple USA Baseball national teams. Alex Bregman leads the way in both categories with appearances on five separate national teams and four gold medals.

In total, 11 alumni competed with the Collegiate National Team, seven played for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic (WBC), six suited up for the 18U National Team, four participated with the 16U National Team and two represented the U.S. on the Professional National Team.

The 2018 MLB All-Star Game will be played on Tuesday, July 17, at 8 p.m. ET on Fox.

The full list of USA Baseball alumni that appear on 2018 All-Star Game rosters is as follows:

Team USA Rained Out on Thursday

Make-up time to be determined

July 12, 2018

HAVANA - Due to heavy rains in Havana on Thursday, game three of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team's series against Cuba has been postponed. A make-up time for the contest is still to be determined.

Team USA will look to clinch its fourth consecutive series victory over Cuba when the two teams retake the field at Estadio Latinoamericano at 10 a.m. ET Friday morning. Game four is still scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday as well.

Continue to follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Collegiate National Team.

HAVANA - Three pitchers combined on a three-hit shutout and the offense scored three times in the second inning as the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team won for the second consecutive day, defeating Cuba, 3-0, at Estadio Latinoamericano on Wednesday.

Starting pitcher Zack Hess (LSU) got Team USA off to a solid start with four scoreless frames, striking out one and yielding just three hits and no walks.

Jake Agnos (ECU) picked up right where Hess left off, retiring all 12 batters that he faced in his four frames of work with three punchouts. Max Meyer (Minnesota) then twirled a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up his team-leading sixth save of the summer.

Combined, the three pitchers retired the final 18 batters that they faced as the U.S. notched its second shutout of the summer, having also blanked Japan, 1-0, on July 4 in Durham, N.C.

Offensively, all three of the red, white, and blue's runs came in the second inning.

Andrew Vaughn (Cal) drew a leadoff walk to get the ball rolling and Josh Jung (Texas Tech) put two on as he reached on an error by Cuban second baseman Juan Carlos Torriente.

Dominic Fletcher (Arkansas) quickly put the U.S. out front, driving in both runners with a double to right-center. Bryson Stott promptly moved Fletcher up to third with a sacrifice bunt before Braden Shewmake (Texas A&M) stroked an RBI triple to the gap in right-center.

Shewmake finished 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Daniel Cabrera (LSU) tallied a two-hit effort as well.

Team USA will look to clinch its fourth consecutive series victory over Cuba when the two teams take the field at Estadio Latinoamericano at 7:15 p.m. ET Thursday night. The final two games of the series will then be played at 10 a.m. ET on Friday and Saturday.

Continue to follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Collegiate National Team.

QUOTES

USA Baseball CNT Manager Paul Mainieri

(On Team USA's effort on Wednesday)

"We had one great inning but we hit a couple of balls with runners in scoring position that looked like singles up the middle only to see their pitchers make great plays to keep more runs for scoring. I thought we played pretty well offensively, but certainly the key to the game was the dominating pitching of Zack Hess, Jake Agnos, and Max Meyer. Just phenomenal performances by all three guys. When you pitch like that it is almost impossible to lose. I'm just so proud of those guys, they have all done a tremendous job in every outing. Agnos could possibly come back once more in game five, if needed, but Hess is done for the summer now. He just did a tremendous job in all three outings here with Team USA with nine scoreless innings."

(On having a chance to win the series tomorrow)

"It's amazing to think that we spent all that time traveling down here yesterday, played such a great game yesterday and came back tonight with another outstanding performance. But we still have three tough games to go. You can't look too far ahead, but we are excited to have a chance to win the series tomorrow and I think our guys will be ready to go."

USA Baseball RHP Zack Hess

(On playing for Team USA)

"It has been awesome. This is something I have dreamed about doing ever since I was a little kid. I've always wanted to be a part of USA Baseball and it has been a dream-come-true to be around all these guys this entire summer. It has been an incredible time and I am excited about finishing up strong with these guys."

(On playing with several LSU teammates and for his college head coach for Team USA)

"It has been awesome. I know Coach Mainieri has been having a lot of fun with it and this is something he has always wanted to do. When he got the news back in the fall, he was so excited, and the fact that we have me, Daniel (Cabrera), Zach (Watson), and Antoine (Duplantis) earlier in the summer, has been incredible. We all took it with a lot of humbleness and have been enjoying every second."

(On the success of Team USA's pitching staff this summer)

"I think everyone on our pitching staff has done a phenomenal job all summer. Everyone has been very aggressive within the strike zone and we are all pitching with a lot of confidence. We've just kind of gone after guys. At the end of the day we are pitching against wood bats, so that is definitely a transition from college ball, but I think everyone is trying to be more aggressive and that has been a big key to our success."

HAVANA - Despite a long travel day, the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team put together possibly its most complete game of the summer on Tuesday as it cruised to a dominating 5-1 victory in its series opener against Cuba at Estadio Latinoamericano.

The story of the day was Florida State southpaw Drew Parrish who retired the first 13 batters he faced en route to five shutout innings and the win. He faced just one over the minimum, yielding only a one-out single in the fifth while striking out five.

Offensively, five different players recorded multi-hit contests, led by a 3-for-5 effort by Adley Rutschman (Oregon State) who had doubles in the win. Bryson Stott (UNLV) added a pair of RBI singles, while Bryant Packard (ECU), Daniel Cabrera (LSU), and Josh Jung (Texas Tech) all had two hits to their credit as well.

The two teams will continue the series with games at 7:15 p.m. ET each of the next three days. The series finale will then be played at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday, July 14.

Despite an early start and a long travel day to Havana on Tuesday, Team USA was quick out of the gates in the series opener. Cabrera opened the frame with a leadoff single up the middle and Jung followed with a base hit of his own to center.

Stott then punched a 2-2 pitch through the right side to bring in Cabrera for the first run of the game. Just seconds later, a wild pitch allowed Jung to trot home and the U.S. had an early 2-0 lead.

With Parrish dealing on the mound, the red, white, and blue tacked another tally on the scoreboard in the fourth when Shea Langeliers (Baylor) pulled a leadoff double down the left-field line and scored two batters later on a long sacrifice fly to the warning track in center off the bat of Braden Shewmake (Texas A&M).

That lead only continued to increase the next few innings as Andrew Vaughn (California) lifted a sac fly of his own to right in the seventh and Stott notched his second RBI of the night with a run-scoring single in the eighth to make it a 5-0 advantage.

Cuba came roaring back in the bottom of the ninth, however, using a pair of singles and two wild pitches to plate what would be its only run of the game. After a walk put two on and the potential tying run on deck, Team USA called Matt Cronin (Arkansas) in to close it out.

He did just that, blowing away Cuban shortstop Alexander Ayala on four pitches to seal the victory and earn his first save of the summer.

Continue to follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Collegiate National Team.

QUOTES

USA Baseball CNT Manager Paul Mainieri

(On the strong all-around performance today)

"I told the players after the game that may have been our best all-around performance of the summer. Obviously, Drew Parrish was the key to the game going out there and pitching so magnificently. Normally we would have taken him out after four innings, but he was so efficient and wanted to go another inning, plus he had a no-hitter going. He just did a great job. We swung the bats well all night, we got a lot of clutch hits, we ran the bases well, and we made some nice plays on defense. That's about as well as we can play. We were up at 5:30, 6 a.m. this morning to leave Atlanta. To go through all we did to get here and then go out and play the way we did, I could not be more proud of the guys."

(On what this win does for the team's confidence)

"This definitely helps our confidence level quite a bit. We had a tough loss to Japan yesterday when we had so many hits and just couldn't cash in. It was great to see the guys put it behind them so quickly and come out and play so well. Any time you beat the Cuban National Team on the road in Cuba is a great victory. It was a tremendous all-around performance so that gives us a lot of confidence going forward. The game tomorrow starts 0-0 though."

USA Baseball LHP Drew Parrish

(On his mindset going into the game)

"It was a long day waking up at 5 a.m. and traveling all day to get here, but I knew Cuba would have a great team so I would have to bring my 'A' game. This series means so much to all of us and we want to represent our nation well. The team played terrific. Any time you have 13 hits and five runs is a great day to pitch."

(On his plan of attack against Cuba)

"I didn't want to do anything out of the ordinary. I knew I had to throw strikes and get outs. I did the best I could today and just put the ball in the hands of the offense to produce, and it did."

(On what the win does for the team's confidence)

"It is huge. If we can wake up at 5 a.m., travel all day, and still win, a full day's rest is only going to give us that much more confidence. Hopefully we can keep it going and come out and get a win tomorrow."

ATLANTA - In a fitting end to an extremely hard-fought and tightly-contested series, Monday's finale between the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and Japan took extra innings to decide with Japan claiming a 4-3 walk-off win in the 11th at SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta Braves.

The U.S. clinched the series victory on Sunday with a 7-6 win in Macon, Ga. It also won the contests held on July 4 in Durham, N.C., and July 5 in Savannah, Ga. Japan's only other triumph came in the series opener, July 3, in Charlotte, N.C.

Having won the 42nd U.S. vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series, the red, white, and blue improves its series record to 24-18, including a 21-1 mark in series held in the United States. The Collegiate National Team now holds a 127-106-2 record all-time in games against Japan.

As proof of the tightly-contested nature of the entire series, the U.S. narrowly outscored Japan, 14-12, in the five-game set with only one game being decided by more than a single run.

Team USA will next head to Havana, Cuba, on Tuesday, when it will open a five-game series at Estadio Latinoamericano which is set to run July 10-14. The first four games are scheduled to start at 7:15 p.m. ET and the series finale will be played at 10 a.m. ET.

In Monday's game, Japan wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, using a two-run double off the bat of Yukiya Ito to grab a 2-0 lead in the first inning.

The U.S. quickly got one of the runs back in the second though when Jung laced a double down the left-field line before coming around to score on a Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State) RBI single.

Team USA then grabbed the lead in the top of the fourth, when the first five batters of the frame all reached on singles. The fourth of those base hits came off the bat of Bryson Stott (UNLV) and brought two runs in to make it a 3-2 game.

Just two innings later, however, a walk and three wild pitches allowed Japan to tie the game back up and that is where the score would remain at the end of the ninth, prompting extra innings and the international tiebreaker rule to be implemented.

Despite having runners on first and second with nobody out, neither team was able to plate a run in the 10th. U.S. rightfielder Dominic Fletcher (Arkansas) made an outstanding play to keep the game alive in the home half of that inning as he caught a flyball and unleashed a laser to the plate where he was able to cut down a runner trying to tag-and-score for the frame's third out.

In the top of the 11th, the red, white, and blue looked primed to take the lead back when Braden Shewmake (Texas A&M) laid down a leadoff bunt and beat it out for an infield single that loaded the bases.

Japanese pitcher Hiromi Ito escaped the jam, however, sandwiching a pair of strikeouts around a foul out to keep the score deadlocked.

In the bottom of the inning, Japan was able to score the winning run when Toshiya Sato laid down a sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position and Takashi Umino followed with a game-winning sacrifice fly to center.

Both Jung and Torkelson finished the game with three hits to lead a 15-hit U.S. attack, while Andrew Vaughn (California) and Bryant Packard (ECU) had two hits apiece.

Continue to follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Collegiate National Team.

QUOTES

USA Baseball CNT Manager Paul Mainieri

(On the Japan series)

"Japan was just so impressive all series with the quality of their defense and their pitching. They just never gave in, never gave you a good pitch to hit, and they all had good stuff. We had 15 hits today, but we left a small army on base, a lot of which were in scoring position. You preach clutch hitting to every player that ever plays for you. It is what separates players. When you don't come through with the clutch hits it is hard to win. Our pitching was phenomenal once again and we played good defense, but we just didn't take advantage of our scoring opportunities. I'm proud of the fact that we won the series. It would have been nice to close it out with another win, but it didn't happen so now we just have to turn the page and get ready to head down to Cuba."

(On getting ready for the Cuba series)

"Obviously they are one of the premier baseball-playing countries in the world and we will be playing them in a very unique environment for everybody. We are just going to have to go after them and hopefully we can get a few more clutch hits and come through in our scoring opportunities."

(On the opportunity to play at SunTrust Park)

"It is just amazing. Between Eric Campbell, Jim Hendry, John Schuerholz, and some of the other Braves' people, they really gave us an incredible opportunity. For these players to be able to play in a Major League stadium was just an awesome experience."

USA Baseball Catcher Adley Rutschman

(On winning the Japan series)

"It's big. I think the guys are really happy even though today didn't turn out how we wanted it to. We wanted to end on a high note, but I think the guys are really excited just to have the opportunity to play teams like Japan and Cuba. Just to be able to be in this atmosphere and this ballpark and just get a taste of what it is like is exciting. This team feels very fortunate and now everyone is looking forward to getting on that plane tomorrow and starting a new five-game series against Cuba."

(On the upcoming Cuba series)

"I don't know a whole lot about Cuba but we are all really excited to kind of see the unknown. We know their stadium holds quite a few people and we hope they get a good crowd there. Everyone is just excited to get rid of the uncertainty, see what Cuba has in store for us, and see how that series unfolds. Their style of play is unique and there are certain things that they do which are a lot different than what we have seen from Japan. But they get after, they play hard, and it should be a fun series."

(On being named MVP of the U.S.-Japan series)

"More important are the bonds we are creating as a team here. At the end of the day, this award is just a bat. It is a tremendous honor and I am grateful to have won it, but all of that kind of stuff takes care of itself when you are out here having fun playing the game and enjoying being around your teammates."

MACON, Ga. - Sparked by a mammoth two-run home run by Bryson Stott (UNLV), the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team bounced back from a three-run deficit and held off a furious ninth-inning rally to clinch the series win over Japan with a 7-6 victory at Luther Williams Field, home of the Macon Bacon.

Trailing 3-0 going into the sixth, the Team USA bats caught fire in the final three innings. After recording just two extra-base hits in the first three games of the series combined, the red, white, and blue had three doubles and two home runs in the last three frames on Sunday alone.

With its third win, the U.S. has officially clinched the 42nd U.S. vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series, improving its series record to 24-18, including a 21-1 mark in series held in the United States. The Collegiate National Team now holds a 127-105-2 record all-time in games against Japan.

After getting rained out in Charleston on Saturday, the fifth and final game between the U.S. and Japan has been rescheduled to take place at SunTrust Park, home of the Atlanta Braves, at 2:30 p.m. ET on Monday. The contest is open to the scouting community and those on the team pass list.

Four different players had multi-hit contests on Sunday as Team USA tallied a series-high 12 hits. Stott and Dominic Fletcher (Arkansas) both hit two-run home runs in the win, while Andrew Vaughn (California) and Adley Rutschman (Oregon State) each finished 2-for-4 with a single and a double each.

Josh Jung (Texas Tech) also had a solid day at the plate, reaching in all four of his appearances with a single, three walks, and a run scored.

Pitching in relief, Parker Caracci (Ole Miss) picked up the win with 3.1 shutout innings. He struck out three and allowed just one hit. Max Meyer (Minnesota) pitched the ninth to record his team-leading fifth save of the summer and third against Japan.

Making his second start of the series, Japan right-hander Wataru Matsumoto was terrific once again, striking out seven in 5.2 innings. For the series, he now has 23 strikeouts in 12.2 innings of work, allowing just three runs on 10 hits.

Team USA had an early opportunity to break the game open, loading the bases with nobody out in the home half of the second, but Japan was able to escape unscathed, retiring a runner at the plate on a fielder's choice before Matsumoto snared a one-hopper back to the mound to start an inning-ending 1-2-3 double play.

Japan took the momentum and ran with it, scoring three runs in the next frame. Motoki Mukoyama got the ball rolling with a solo home run over the wall in left in his first at-bat of the series. A couple of two-out RBIs later in the inning on a perfectly executed hit-and-run and a run-scoring, quickly put the U.S. in a 3-0 hole.

The red, white, and blue wasn't about to go quietly though with a long sacrifice fly by Bryant Packard (ECU) plating the team's first run in the bottom of the sixth. The next batter then tied the game as Stott (UNLV) launched a towering moonshot down the right-field line and into the train yard beyond the wall for a two-run home run that brought the game back to even at 3-3.

Vaughn then gave the U.S. its first lead of the day in the seventh with a two-RBI double to left. Although Japan got one of those runs back in the top of the eighth, Fletcher responded in the home half of the stanza with what would turn out to be a critical two-run longball over the wall in right.

With a 7-4 lead and two outs in the ninth, Team USA looked well on its way to victory, but Japan had other ideas. After a walk put runners on the corners, Japan pinch-hitter Ryosuke Aizawa punched a seeing-eye single into right. Two U.S. throwing errors later, he stood on third as the potential tying run as both runners on base crossed the plate to cut the Team USA lead down to one.

Meyer was able to buckle down, however, inducing a pop-out to Stott at short two batters later to seal the win and the series victory.

Continue to follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Collegiate National Team.

QUOTES

USA Baseball CNT Manager Paul Mainieri

(On the team's offensive effort on Sunday)

"We had a great opportunity early in the game that we squandered with the bases loaded and nobody out, so it seemed like more of the same as the first three games. But we finally came to life. First of all, in that inning Shea Langeliers just missed a two-run homer by a couple of feet and we ended up not scoring so I felt like we were a little bit snake-bit right there. Later on, we were able to come through with some big ones though. Bryson Stott obviously had the big home run to tie the ball game right after Bryant Packard came up big off the bench with a long sacrifice fly for our first run. I thought it was going to go off the wall, but their guy made a great catch. Then Andrew Vaughn, who in all honesty has been struggling in this series, came up with a big two-run double. We got a lucky bounce and then, of course, Fletcher's two-run homer. We thought that was icing on the cake, but it turned out to be critical."

(On the key to the victory Sunday)

"It was great to see us swing the bats a little bit better and hit in the clutch, but for me the key to the game was Parker Caracci. Him coming in and doing what he did was huge, especially his last few innings. He only threw six pitches to get through one of his innings, so his pitch count didn't get elevated. Then Matt Cronin was awesome. Max (Meyer) didn't have his best game today but they started running all those left-handed pinch hitters in there and his slider isn't quite as effective against lefties. Then we had that one crazy play to make it a one-run game but, at the end of the day, he was able to get that last out and that is what closers are supposed to do."

(On winning the series against Japan)

"Winning a series against Japan is really hard. I have so much respect for them, just the way they go about their business, the way they work, the fundamentals they play the game with. They are a very well managed team so to win three consecutive games after losing the first one says a lot about our guys, but every single game has been a hard-fought nail-biter. We expect tomorrow will be more of the same even though we have won the series. We still want to play to win every day."

(On Japan starting pitcher Wataru Matsumoto)

"We struck out 16 times in seven innings against him the other day, so we made a lot of improvement against him. He is a warrior out there. If he was a college kid in the United States he is a clear first-round draft choice. He is really something. He has pitchability with great stuff, but our guys battled him hard. We got some hits today and had some tough at-bats against him. Even when we weren't scoring runs early in the game, we were forcing him to throw an awful lot of pitches and he was pitching on only three days' rest. I think he started to get a little fatigued at the end, but it was key that we made him throw so many pitches even when he was getting us out."

(On playing the finale at SunTrust Park)

"We were so disappointed to get rained out last night in Charleston because it is a beautiful ballpark and we were excited about playing. We really wanted to have a day off before going to Cuba but the opportunity to play in a Major League stadium kind of lifts the guys up. I think they were willing to give up the off day to play in a Major League park and I think they are really looking forward to it."

USA Baseball Shortstop Bryson Stott

(On hitting a home run in the series-clinching win over Japan)

"It is awesome. That team over there is really good or they wouldn't have come this far to play. They obviously don't like to lose so to be up in that situation and come through for our team was pretty cool."

(On playing for Team USA)

"It is unmatched. Wearing these three letters is something I will never take for granted and remember for the rest of my life. Doing it with this group of guys and representing our country is something none of us will ever forget. Being able to win a series against Japan is something we are really proud of and now we want to go down and win a series in Cuba too."

Game Four in Charleston Rained Out

US-Japan series to continue at 5 p.m. ET in Macon, Ga., on Saturday

July 8, 2018

CHARLESTON, S.C. - Following heavy rains Saturday evening in Charleston, S.C., the field conditions at Joseph P. Riley, Jr., Park were deemed unplayable. The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team and Japan will play game four of their series at 5 p.m. ET at Luther Williams Field in Macon, Ga., on Sunday.

Details regarding the fifth and final game of the series are yet to be determined.

Continue to follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Collegiate National Team.

SAVANNAH, Ga. - Another strong effort on the mound and a pair of LSU Tigers at the plate led the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team to a 3-1 victory in game three of its series against Japan in front of a sell-out crowd of 4,211 at historic Grayson Stadium on Friday night.

The victory gives the U.S. a 2-1 lead in the 42nd USA vs. Japan Collegiate All-Star Series. The red, white, and blue will go for its 24th series win on Saturday when the two squads square off at 6:05 p.m. ET at Riley Park in Charleston, S.C. The series finale is set for 5 p.m. ET at Luther Williams Field in Macon, Ga., on Sunday.

On the mound, three pitchers combined to limit Japan to just four hits and collect 14 punchouts. Starter Mason Feole (UConn) went four scoreless frames and fanned five before Jake Agnos (ECU) took over and fired 3.1 innings with just one run allowed and six strikeouts.

Max Meyer (Minnesota) went the final 1.2 to pick up his team-leading fourth save of the summer, striking out three of his own in the process.

At the plate, Zach Watson (LSU) set the tone from the leadoff position, going 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored while his fellow Tiger teammate Daniel Cabrera (LSU) was 2-for-3 with a run and a walk out of the cleanup spot.

Adley Rutschman (Oregon State) and Spencer Torkelson (Arizona State) also had singles in Friday's contest as Team USA picked up a series-high seven hits, including one in every inning except the seventh. Six of those hits also came to leadoff a frame.

The U.S. took advantage of several uncharacteristic unforced errors by Japan to score its first two runs on Friday.

Cabrera led off the third with a base hit to right-center before moving up to second when Andrew Vaughn (California) was hit by a pitch. Just a few pitches later, both runners were set in motion and the Japan catcher's throw sailed into left to allow Cabrera to cross the plate with the game's first run.

Just one frame later, Watson reached on a one-out single through the right side. Japan pitcher Hiromi Ito tried to pick him off but his throw bounced past the first baseman and down the right-field line. Running aggressively, Watson raced around second forcing Japan to try to throw him out at third, but that throw also got away and Watson scored easily to put the U.S. up 2-0.

Japan got one of the runs back in the fifth but that would be as close as it would get as Agnos and Meyer yielded just two baserunners over the game's final three innings.

Team USA tacked on an insurance run in the eighth to account for the 3-1 final score.

Once again it was Watson getting the ball rolling with an infield single. A sac bunt by Dominic Fletcher (Arkansas) and a groundout by Rutschman advanced him to third before a wild pitch brought him the final 90 feet.

Continue to follow @USABaseballCNT on Twitter and visit USABaseball.com for the most up-to-date news about the Collegiate National Team.

QUOTES

USA Baseball CNT Manager Paul Mainieri

(On bouncing back with two wins after dropping the series opener)

"I think it tells you we have some really outstanding pitching. That's how we have won these two games with just dominating pitching. We are spoiled. We take out one outstanding pitcher from one school and bring in another outstanding pitcher from another school. What a luxury to have. We have pitched great and played great defense. I told the guys that we are just a couple of clutch hits away from having a really good team. We left some opportunities out there that, if we had taken advantage of, we could win these games running away. But every game has been a nail-biter and has come down to late-inning relief pitching."

(On Zach Watson's performance today)

"Watson is a really good player and a really good athlete but he wasn't ready for pro ball this summer and I think he knows that. He needed to work on some things, specifically hitting the ball up the middle, hitting the ball the other way, and hitting breaking balls better. Look at his hits today, he had a hit to right-center, a hit to right field, and a hit up the middle. Even the ball he hit back to the pitcher with two strikes wasn't bad. You can see the improvement he is making. He is becoming more of a complete hitter. He is already an outstanding outfielder, an outstanding baserunner with great speed, and when he hits them he hits them good. He's got some power and wiry strength, but he just had some things he needed to work on this summer to take into next year. If he does, and it looks like he is going to, I think he is going to be an extremely high draft choice."

(On his experience coaching at Grayson Stadium)

"I had heard a lot about Savannah, the Bananas, and the crowds that they get so we were looking forward to coming here. It is such a great experience being here. The people were fantastic rooting us on and they seem like they just have an awful lot of fun in the stands here. It reminded me a little bit of some of the SEC parks that we played in. It was a little bit of an older park then we played at in Cary, Charlotte, and Durham, which was good for the players to see. It kind of brought them back to their roots when they learned to play baseball. The fans were terrific and it was just a whole lot of fun tonight."

USA Baseball Outfielder Zach Watson

(On his approach at the plate today)

"I was really just sticking on what I've been doing, trying to go the other way and seeing that outside pitch get deep. I've been pulling off the ball all season so I've really been working on going to the opposite field and it worked out tonight. I was seeing the ball really well and, like Coach (Manieri) says, good things happen when you go the other way."

(On taking a 2-1 lead in the series)

"It's huge. Japan is a great team. They have great pitching and good hitting. Their pitching is outstanding and is stuff we haven't seen before. To go out there and have a good day is tough so we're happy to come out with a win today."